“We’re a better team than them, we should have smoked them”.
That was the sentiment from Melbourne defender Steven May, speaking at the Demons' best and fairest on Friday night about eventual premiers Collingwood.
May finished fifth in Melbourne’s count to claim the Dick Taylor Memorial Trophy. In an interview after the award, the 31-year-old volunteered his opinion on Collingwood, who defeated the Demons in a narrow win in the first week of finals.
Melbourne could have won the clash on expected score, having eight more scoring shots and enjoyed a whopping 32 more inside 50s on the night, but fell to the Magpies in a low-scoring thriller in the Qualifying Final.
“I’ve had a few fans come up to me and (say) I really appreciate and respect how much you hate losing, which is awesome, and I do,” he said in a clip posted to X by @laceoutofficial.
“And I don’t want to talk about them constantly. But you know, we lose to Collingwood, and they go on to win the flag, and it f---ing hurts. Because we’re a better team than them, we should have smoked them.
“And to sit there on Grand Final day and watch them hoist the cup, and get the medals, I’m sitting there going - jeez, our team’s so much better than these guys. We should’ve been out there, but we weren’t.
“We’ve got an unbelievable list, an unbelievable coaching group, and the hunger has never been, you know, hungrier. I’m blessed to be a part of this team and looking forward to next year.”
Steven May at the MFC best and fairest after finishing in 5th place pic.twitter.com/r73DaFYLOv
— Lace out (@laceoutofficial) October 8, 2023
Melbourne’s inefficiency up forward ultimately brought its finals campaign to a premature end, losing in a similar fashion to Carlton the following week.
It marked the second consecutive year Simon Goodwin’s men had been eliminated from September in straight sets, the first team in the AFL era to do so.